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The benefits that you make available to your workforce has a decisive influence on your company’s ability to recruit outstanding workers, and it will play a determinative role in their willingness to stay onboard. Companies that offer the benefits that are most valued by employees will be likely to see their best workers stay with them for an extended period of time or even the entirety of the careers. In contrast, companies that offer relatively few benefits or put undue restrictions on eligibility for benefits will be more likely to lose the most productive members of their workforce to companies that provide superior benefits. Here are four important benefits that employers should consider making a part of their standard benefits package.
1. Life Insurance
Giving your workforce the ability to safeguard their families with life insurance is an excellent way to let them know that you value them as more than just their individual job roles. It provides them with an important sense of security and financial responsibility. Compared to some other benefits, group life insurance policies are relatively affordable for employers. There are a lot of different coverage options available, so you need to familiarize yourself with some life insurance 101 basics to make an informed decision about choosing an affordable policy.
2. Health Insurance
In general, health insurance is arguably the most important employer-provided benefit. Companies that employ a certain number of workers are legally required to make health insurance benefits available to them. There can be a probationary period before patients will be eligible to receive benefits, but even employees who are categorized as temporary must be given benefits by large employers under the Affordable Care Act. Employers who fail to provide benefits when required to do so can be heavily fined. Employers do not have to pay for the entirety of an employee’s coverage, and an employees’ financial responsibility for their coverage can be withdrawn from their paychecks automatically. It is possible to work with a benefits administrator that can provide more than one health insurance plan, so employees will be able to choose a plan that will best meet their needs based on their anticipated utilization of benefits.
3. Health and Wellness Programs
Helping your employees stay healthy can promote a strong workforce and positive company culture. In addition, it can reduce employees’ need to utilize health insurance benefits. Individuals who have generally good health and wellness will be less likely to suffer an injury or experience a chronic health condition. Furthermore, wellness translates into productivity, and employees who are feeling well physically and mentally will be best able to take on difficult tasks. Examples of features offered by a health and wellness program include fitness memberships, smoking cessation assistance, nutritional counseling, and emotional support groups.
4. Paid Time Off
Giving your employees vacation time beyond a few sick days is critical to fostering job satisfaction and preventing burnout. It’s advisable to offer a minimum of two weeks per year, but many companies that offer more receive outstanding feedback for doing so. You might consider a time-off program that gradually increases the amount of time off that is provided based on an employee’s tenure with the company. Some employers have also taken the strategic approach to group vacation days and sick days in the same allotment. Under this approach, employee’s needn’t claim that they are sick simply to get a day or two off work when they need to take time off work for personal reasons. Giving employees the option to accrue compensatory time is also a fantastic way to ensure that people get the time off of work that they deserve. Even salaried employees who aren’t required to be paid overtime can get rewarded for the extra hours by tracking them as compensatory hours which can later be taken as time off or cashed out at a comparable pay rate, generally between 70% or as much as 100% of their typical wages.
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